Monster Energy Cup

After last weekend's chaos at Talladega Superspeedway, Kyle Larson led a quiet opening practice session Friday afternoon. Larson's fastest lap around Kansas Speedway was 189.056 mph. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver was the quickest of seven playoff drivers in the top 10. Teammate Jamie McMurray brought up the rear of that list. Kansas will cut the NASCAR Playoffs field from 12 to eight Sunday afte...

It's time to once again trim the field. The second round of cuts in the NASCAR Playoffs happens this weekend at Kansas Speedway. While it isn't likely that Kansas will be as wild as last weekend's race at Talladega, the slick 1.5-miler will not lack for championship storylines. Jimmie Johnson, who is the series' defending champion, is hanging on for dear life to the final spot. Two former champio...

It might have seemed like divine intervention when Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed each of the big wrecks Sunday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. But a victory was not in the cards. After starting from the pole, Earnhardt finished seventh in his final start at the track where he's had the most success and fan support. One of just 11 cars left in the pack contending for the race win, Earnhardt said...

Talladega Superspeedway didn't need to be an elimination race to shake up the playoffs. Sunday afternoon, seven playoff drivers earned DNFs after being collected in accidents. Only four playoff drivers were left running at the finish with two winding up inside the top 10. Brad Keselowski earned the victory to advance into the Round of 8 and Denny Hamlin finished sixth. Jamie McMurray was the firs...

Denny Hamlin might have been one of only two playoff drivers to finish inside the top-10 at Talladega Superspeedway but he was kicking himself afterward. The No. 11 FedEx Toyota was one of what seemed to be only a handful of cars without damage following the Alabama 500. Escaping the carnage, Hamlin finished sixth and will go into next weekend's elimination race above the cutline. But he continua...

On the Longest Day at Talladegaâin a war of attrition that required three red flags and left 14 cars running at the finishâBrad Keselowski powered his No. 2 Team Penske Ford past the No. 31 Chevrolet of Ryan Newman on the final lap to win Sunday's Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Two laps after the final restart on Lap 186 of 188, Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano ganged up on Newman, wh...

Furniture Row Racing will have a fully funded No. 78 Toyota next season for Martin Truex Jr. The organization announced a major sponsorship package Sunday morning at Talladega Superspeedway with Bass Pro Shops and 5-hour ENERGY co-sponsoring the car for 30 races. Auto-Owners Insurance will be a primary sponsor for six races. Both Bass Pro Shops and Auto-Owners are continuing their partnerships wi...

Martin Truex Jr. is ready to once again be the lone wolf at Furniture Row Racing. "No worries," Truex told RACER after qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series point leader will not have a teammate next season as FRR announced this week it will shut down the No. 77. The organization had expanded to two cars this year with Truex working with rookie Erik Jones. Go...

The roar from the crowd quickly overtook the engine noise as the No. 88 flashed atop the leaderboard at Talladega Superspeedway. The track's favorite son will start from the pole in what is expected to be Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s final start at the 2.66-mile facility. Earnhardt was fastest in both rounds of single-car qualifying Saturday evening, earning the top spot with a lap of 190.544 mph. The Al...

Kasey Kahne was fastest in an uneventful final practice at Talladega Superspeedway. After serving a 30-minute penalty, Kahne went to the top of the leaderboard at 191.222 mph. He was followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 191.069 mph. Earnhardt also served a 30-minute practice hold following inspection issues the last few weeks. The rest of the top five on the speed c...

Joey Logano fielded questions during his media availability Friday morning at Talladega Superspeedway about how the always unpredictable Alabama oval will affect the playoffs. Here's the thing: Logano isn't in the playoffs. However, he is the two-time defending fall winner at Talladega and knows how important this race is to the title hunt. And had it not been for an encumbered win at Richmond in...

The Fords continued their impressive display of restrictor-plate speed in the opening practice session Friday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. Four-time Talladega winner Brad Keselowski was the first of nine Ford drivers in the top 10 in speeds. Keselowski rocketed to the top of the leaderboard with a 197.859 mph lap. Kurt Busch was second fastest at 197.806 mph with Ryan Blaney third fastes...

Early in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career, Brad Keselowski was offered some wisdom from former driver and owner, current NASCAR of Fox broadcaster, Phil Parsons. It's what Keselowski called upon when RACER asked him to sum up making it to 300 career starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. "He said, 'Brad, you want to know when you've had a successful career? You're not going to...

In 2002, Jamie McMurray was hired by Chip Ganassi Racing to run a limited schedule in the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge at Talladega. He ran well in his rookie debut and gathered so much confidence that a week later he went out and won at Richmond. Fourteen years and 540 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup races later, the 41 year-old wheelman from Joplin, Missouri is still front and center in Chip Ganassi's ra...

Michael McDowell has six races left with Leavine Family Racing after learning last month he will be replaced by Kasey Kahne next season. McDowell discusses with Kelly Crandall what it has been like in recent weeks figuring out his options and how he hopes to end his tenure with the team he's been with the last four seasons.